Easyjet predicts profit growth

Low cost airline easyJet reiterated that it still expected to see full year pretax profit growth of 40 to 50 percent while reporting an 8.4 percent rise in August passenger traffic on Thursday.

EasyJet, Europe's second-largest carrier after Ryanair, said its August load factor was 89.2 percent.

The group said it cancelled a total of 469 flights in August and expected the impact from the cancellations, passenger assistance and compensation over the period of the disruption to be about 4 million pounds.

Flights from London were disrupted last month following a security alert imposed after police said they had foiled a plot to bomb planes.

Budget carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet rely on rapid turnaround times at airports to maximise profits, and the delays from extra security checks have slowed operations for all carriers.

Shares in easyJet closed at 467 pence on Wednesday, valuing the group at around 1.9 billion pounds.

Launched by entrepreneur Stelios Haji Ioannou in 1995, easyJet floated in London in 2000, bought the low cost carrier Go in 2002 and has since grown rapidly, with around 170 planes expected in the air by 2008.